Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) Reviews

There has been opportunity to get promoted at the pace that I would like given my own personal career goals and aspirations.

Events run throughout the year.

I think the ANAO has a particular work culture that either suits your personal working style or doesn't. There is heavy emphasis on getting the small details correct. This can be stressful at times, unless your own personality is very detail-oriented. The organisation is therefore full of very analytical and introverted staff who tend to be a bit perfectionist -- which, again, is fine if it suits your working style, but can be stifling if not.

The ANAO is quite diverse. There are good representations of gender and race. A network of Diversity Contact Officers promotes the importance of diversity at the ANAO, including supporting LGBTQ+ communities. There are affirmative recruitment pathways for Indigenous applicants. There are affirmative recruitment pathways for Indigenous applicants. Apart from this, I am not aware of particular efforts to attract applicants from less privileged backgrounds.

As part of my work, I plan and complete analysis, conduct interviews, and write reports. It is enjoyable but can feel rushed at times.

I have been lucky to have had great managers. They have all been accessible when I needed them, and they have all been invested in my wellbeing and continued professional development, including by encouraging me to apply for promotions and giving me additional responsibilities to grow key skills.

Dress code is formal, as there is a lot of external contact. Office space is clean, location is reasonable, staff parking spaces are available albeit somewhat limited and lockers available for public transport or bike commuters.

Interview and assessment process for my graduate intake in was well-rounded and fair. It was split into 3 sections: a written task, group task and panel interview. I believe each of the 3 stages is necessary for a comprehensive hiring process and made me feel all the more accomplished and thankful that I received the offer. It made all the difference having the process in person, I am not sure if I would have taken the job if I wasn't able to see the ANAO offices and staff in person. I think they were scenario-based -- e.g. describe a time when you had to do X and how did you handle it? I think they gave us the questions beforehand and some time to prepare, and we could take the notes with us into the interview. Research what the ANAO does; if possible, read through a couple of audits to get a feel for what you would be expected to do. Highlight your key skills and back them up with examples.

Well paid, as public sector entity bonuses are limited. The potential to win an Australia Day Award that comes with an Akubra hat. Also, we have quarterly town hall meetings that include morning tea and you get to hear directly from the Auditor General about his thoughts. Also, given the ANAO is small, you may even end up in the lift with the Auditor General, who always says hello.

Most of the ANAO's training for auditors focused on graduate training -- I understand that little formal training was available for non-graduate newstarters, who were largely expected to learn on the job. In recent years, there has been a shift in focus to develop and expand training. A lot of training sessions are internal, with different teams sharing their knowledge. These are usually of high quality and taught me a lot of tips and tricks used by other auditors and different teams. More recently, the ANAO has been focusing on sharing knowledge with other audit offices in Australia. Again, these have been insightful and interesting. I have also noted a lot more effort being put into learning and development across the ANAO as a whole, which is positive.

The ANAO is very flexible with the working hours. I usually start early (between 8 and 8:30am) and finish early (between 4 and 4:30pm). All my managers have been accommodating with any time off I have requested, including annual leave, flex days and days when I requested to work from home. Of course, we have to consider business needs when we schedule leave, which can be difficult if you are in the middle of a very busy period, but that is common to all entities.

The ANAO has sought to reduce its environmental footprint by reducing the size of its new office to only accommodate staff who are expected to be working in office. Many staff work at entity premises, meaning a lot of office space is left empty.